Liberation theology focuses on overthrow of oppressors

SCOT WALLColumnist

Published
7:00 pm CDT, Monday, May 12, 2008

Last week I began a series on Black Liberation Theology (BLT), the theological construct of Presidential hopeful Barak Obama’s former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. It has become apparent that this will take more than just two columns to do an adequate job of evaluating this influential theology. So please read all the columns to thus get a complete and accurate understanding of this theology and my personal views regarding it.

As I pointed out, BLT has borrowed extensively from the Liberation Theology of South America that began in the 1950’s to address the plight of the poor and the oppressed. It is a grid by which people look at Scripture and therefore see that the Bible’s main theme as deliverance of the poor over those who oppress them. In some senses this is correct. However, the emphasis of BLT is not so much on deliverance from the oppression of sin and the subsequent freedom we can enjoy because of the cross. The focus is more on a god whose main objective is to help the poor and oppressed overthrow those who are holding them down.

The man that Rev. Jeremiah Wright holds in great admiration as the architect of Black Liberation Theology is James Cone, who is currently a theology professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York. It is clear from Cone’s writings that his theology has been influenced by the Black Power movement that also developed in the 1960s.

In his book, Black Theology and Black Power, Cone writes, “A moral or theological appeal based on a white definition of morality or theology will serve as a detriment to our attainment of black freedom. The only option we blacks have is to fight in every way possible, so that we can create a definition of freedom based on our own history and culture. We must not expect white people to give us freedom. Freedom is not a gift, but a responsibility, and thus must be taken against the will of those who hold us in bondage.”

If one takes an honest look at American history, it has to be acknowledged that many abhorrent acts have been committed in the name of the Bible or Christ. Many white people, who have claimed to be Christians, have treated others in a way contrary to Scripture. Cone could point to a long history of Christian theologians who have used religious arguments to defend both slavery and segregation.

So in one sense, it is understandable how some in the black community would embrace a theology that says this is wrong and God is on their side. It is also understandable that the central text for BLT is found in Luke 4 where Jesus uses a quote from Isaiah to describe His ministry. According to another spokesperson for BLT, Dwight Hopkins, Professor of Theology at The University of Chicago, what Jesus was saying was that His mission was “…to eradicate poverty and to bring about freedom and liberation for the oppressed. And most Christian pastors in America skip over that part of the book.”

Admittedly, the church could do a lot more towards helping the poor. But I think it is much too strong to say that “most pastors in America skip over that part.” In fact the American church has contributed greatly to those in need all over the world. Even so, BLT does not just raise awareness of a weakness in the American church in hopes of encouraging positive change. The proponents of BLT have become so focused upon their goal of propagating social change as it refers to the plight of the American black people that, their view of interpreting Scripture has become completely clouded. The perversion is so strong that it prompts folks like Cone to say, “If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer and we had better kill him.”

As if that example alone were not enough to indict this theological viewpoint, next week I will give a more comprehensive explanation of this perversion of Scripture and why it is so dangerous.

Editor’s Note: Scot Wall helped found and is the current pastor of Magnolia Bible Church which currently meets in the West Montgomery County Community Development Center. Send comments to ConsiderThis@magnoliabible.org.